Pauline Murray (actress)
Pauline Murray (born Dublin, Ireland, August 30, 1922; died Kington, Herefordshire, England, December 31, 1994)[1] was a nurse and occasional actress, and is best known for her portrayal of nurse Pauline in the leading role of the 1966 alternate history British film, It Happened Here, a hypothetical account of England in 1944/45 under German occupation.
Life and career
During the
Pauline was a sort of Mrs. Miniver on camera and off. She never turned a hair when we arrived at her house with 25 muddy extras in German uniform. She cooked vast amounts of stew, found everyone places to sleep and still found time to play her own part... Her nursing experience proved invaluable during the film - we even made her character a nurse....We realised we had that rarest of creatures, a natural actress.... Towards the end of the film, when she found herself playing opposite seasoned professionals like Sebastian Shaw and Fiona Leland, she wrote to me after seeing the rushes; "Sebastian and Fiona seemed alive, real people and I look like a vicious moron. If we hadn't got so far, I'd say get someone else. I honestly feel the lack of expression on my face is disastrous and could ruin the whole thing for you." Fortunately, we could see what she couldn't - that in her restraint lay her strength. For Pauline Murray was the film. And as it depended on her performance, so we all grew to depend on her.
— Brownlow, The Independent[1]
After her part in It Happened Here, Murray never acted in film again, but she continued to appear in village plays.
References
- ^ a b Brownlow, Kevin. "Obituaries: Pauline Murray". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2015.